1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf accessories, and more particularly to a multi-functional tool for use by golfers during preparation for and playing rounds of golf.
2. Description of Related Art
The game of golf has been described as both deceptively simple and endlessly complicated. For many reasons this description accurately describes the game of golf. The game of golf requires that a golfer engage in a variety of activities during the preparation and actual playing of the round. For example, prior to playing an actual round the player will typically clean the spikes on his golf shoes and grooves in his clubs. While playing a round, the golfer normally engages in a host of repetitive activities, many of which may be aided by the use of tools. These activities including cleaning golf spikes, clubfaces, clubface grooves etc. In addition, the golfer is strongly encouraged to repair ball marks, e.g. impact impressions, made on the green by an incoming shot. The golfer must remove stubbornly embedded tees, particularly those driven deeper into the teeing ground by the club during the execution of a stroke. Since golf is played outdoors, the golfer must also contend with the elements. It is well known that wet conditions, for example, can create considerable difficulties for a golfer should the grips of the clubs become wet and thereby degrade the golfer's ability to control twisting forces affecting the club. As a result, the golfer typically makes every effort to maintain dry grips. Furthermore, while many golfers enjoy a fine cigar while playing, most prefer not to execute actual golf strokes with a cigar dangling from their mouth. As a result, golfer's who smoke during the round are often searching for a dry place to temporarily set their cigar in order to execute a shot.
The variety of diverse activities engage in by a golfer before, during, and after a round has resulted in a number of attempts in the art to provide golfer's tool that is multi-functional so as to be useful in a variety of activities. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,519, issued to Haugom, discloses a cleaning device that is particularly suited for cleaning the grooves of a golf club and repairing ball mark depressions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,647, issued to Notarmuzi, discloses a multi-purpose golfer's accessory with a straight edge defining a scraper, and a pair of prongs providing a green repair tool. U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,052, issued to Kennedy, discloses a golfing tool for divot repair, club holding, and ball mark repair. U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,299, issued to Bellagamba, discloses a golf accessory with a divot tool having a removable marker and a golf club shaft cradle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,229, issued to Fazekas, discloses a golf tool having a magnetic post within a round recess for holding a round metallic ball marker, a jagged front edge for cleaning golf club grooves, and a pair of prongs that function to repair turf and as a spike wrench. U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,322, issued to England, discloses a golf tool for holding a ball marker and for repairing divots. U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,502, issued to Warfield, discloses an implement for repairing ball marks. The device includes an abutment that provides a surface against which an index finger of a user can rest to apply increased pressure to insert the implement into the green. U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,458, issued to Cameron, discloses a turf repair device having an angularly disposed first and second portions and a pivot point disposed therebetween. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,514,159 and 6,645,092, issued to Hendren, disclose a golf tool having pivotal support arms for selectively supporting golf club grips off the grass. U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,639, issued to Parks et al., discloses a golf accessory including a magnetic surface in combination with a rest for an object, such as a cigar, using a fixed plate and a hinged plate. U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,519, issued to Bellagamba, discloses a divot tool having a ball marker insertably received through edge openings.
In addition, a number of published patent applications disclose further improvements in the art. For example, Pub. No. US 2002/0115507, in the name of Gribovsky, discloses a ballmark repair tool including a handle portion and a curved shovel portion projecting from the handle portion. Pub. No. US 2004/0142773, in the name of Kennedy, discloses a golf divot repair tool that includes a holder for markers wherein an opening is provided in the holder to allow the golfer to release the ball marker from the holder. Pub. No. US 2006/0073917, in the name of Johnson, discloses a divot repair tool that relies on magnetic force to automatically link the tool and ball mark together when they are deposited separately in the golfer's pocket.
A number of design patents also disclose various ornamental designs for golf tools. Included among those disclosures are the following design patents: U.S. D518,864; U.S. D470,556; U.S. D463,522; and U.S. D452,544; U.S. D419,631.
The present inventor notes that prior contributors to the art have used several significant golf terms at variance with accepted definitions. For the purpose of the present application the following accepted definitions shall apply: The term “ball mark” shall refer to the depression formed in the turf by ball impact. The term “divot” shall refer to a piece of turf gouged out with a club while making a stroke.
The background art reveals a number of multi-purpose golf tools. The tools disclosed, however, consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art that have developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. There exists a need in the art for an improved multipurpose/multifunctional golf tool that may be used to assist a golfer in accomplishing a wide variety of tasks. In these respects, the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a multi-purpose golf tool that overcomes the limitations and disadvantages present in the art.